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Spell Blade Online
}} , abbreviated as SBO, is a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game ( ) and is the main focus of Amezuki Shirayuki's Sword Art Online Alternative: Spell Blade Online light novel series. It is compatible with any FullDive device although the only device released for the game was the , the 's successor. It is a free-roam type of MMORPG with nine races of fairies who are able to fly. Background Originally, Spell Blade Online was a game known as « » which had begun service a year and a half into the SAO incident. However, as soon as SAO was cleared three years after it had begun, the nation, specifically the government, went into an uproar because the incident took the lives of 5,000 players. The government ordered that ALO must be shut down much to the dismay of many players. However, this was soon rectified when the government-run company, , was authorized to reopen the servers of ALO. However, they had different intentions and instead, they converted the game into a new one which they dubbed, Spell Blade Online. The game was finished with its retrofits and the Closed Beta went live beginning on November 1st, 2025, and ran for one month, similar to SAO's beta test. Satisfied, the government gave the project an "okay" and the official release was settled on January 1st, 2026. System When first logging in, the system makes the player choose one of nine races of fairies for their , each with different abilities and affinities toward magic. Unlike Sword Art Online's system, the player has their game avatar created randomly and only have the freedom to choose their avatar name and select the race of the character. However, for an extra fee, players can reconstruct their characters to their liking. The gender of the player's avatar will match the player's gender in real life by default, and the player cannot change it by any means. Skills are developed by the player's own abilities and by repeating them over and over. This way, a new player with good skills, such as an SAO survivor, can match a veteran player almost evenly in battle. The game is famous for being the first game to allow the player to fly for real. It uses a flight engine to enable the player to fly. The flight system also focuses on the player's own ability. It has a "controlled flight" mode, in which the players make use of a controller to fly, at the cost of being able to use only one hand to fight, but, with enough experience and ability, the player is able to learn «Voluntary Flight» and, with it, can use both hands while flying and gains more maneuverability and speed. Virtual Reality Experience As SBO was created by Rath and is a near-carbon copy of SAO, it is a complete virtual reality MMORPG and is capable of rendering the entire ALfheim environment with incredible realism. By stimulating nerves in the brain, it is possible to taste the food, feel the wind and weather, move one's body, and live in SBO as if it were an alternate reality. However, there are several major differences that set the SBO environment apart from the real-world experience. First, no pain is actually felt in any situation due to a feature called «Pain Absorption». As a result, gamers can undergo severe injuries and still only feel a tingling sensation, though certain stimulation, such as magical explosions, can result in negative feedback, like headaches and dizziness that last for several hours. Second, there is no blood; in its place are orange virtual gashes that are seen in the place of damage. Third, magic is implemented to produce a variety of effects, with the incantations being based on strings of words. While playing Spell Blade Online, gamers still feel fatigue and hunger (even if their real bodies are not hungry), yet they can also eat in-game to dispel hunger in the real world, which has developed into a form of dieting for some people as a result. Death or deletion in the game is visualized by fragmentation into thousands of polygon shards. All monsters and items go through such a process. However, players go through a different death scenario: they are engulfed in flames and then leave a Remnant which lingers for a set amount of time, during which the player can still observe his or her surroundings and be revived with magic or special items. Spell Blade Online has also incorporated a «Moral Code» feature similar to that of SAO, however, they are not exactly the same and SBO's cannot be disabled. Environment According to , the main creator of Spell Blade Online, the environmental data is much like SAO in its code, but the only primary differences are the overlay of changing appearances of creatures, character data, and altered programming of AI's as navis (navigation pixies). Global Setting The original Spell Blade Online was set in the continent of Ainground, which was divided into territories, the main ones consisting of racial territories and the minor or smaller ones being controlled by neutral players. At the center of the land was the neutral city of Rhine. There are also several sky islands that serve as territories for fairy races. Upon the release of an update in the year 2026, a patch was later included to introduce New Aincrad, the floating castle, in the sky of Ainground. Gameplay Initiation and Character Creation Upon first signing into SBO, a player must first select a race, each of which has special attributes and skills unique to their race; however, the appearance of the selected character is randomized. Customization of the visual aspects of the character are allowed later on, but every change requires an additional fee. After the race is selected, they will be spawned in the race's hometown. Races * }}: Skilled beast tamers as they are beasts themselves with improved eyesight. They are easily recognizable through their various animal features, with cats, foxes, and tanukis, among the most common. * : The largest and most used race amongst the playerbase and users of the earth. They are styled in brown. * : Masters of night, great night vision. They are styled in purple. * }}: Blacksmith race, their wings have a mechanical appearance. * : Specialists of Holy-elemental magic. They are styled in white. * : Considered the strongest race in terms of attack, they have superior fire spells and are styled in red. * : Specialists of illusion magic and treasure seeking. They are styled in black. * : Considered the fastest race and users of wind, they are denoted by the color green regularly. * : Healers and masters of water. They are styled in blue. Main Menu The main menu is more or less the same as Sword Art Online's original interface but with minor key differences, such as the status of the player no longer incorporating experience, but rather skill mastery instead. However, the main menu is called out using the left hand countering that of how SAO's menu was opened using the right hand. *'Inventory/equipment': The icon for the category is a character icon. This is the default screen when opening the Menu interface. The left screen is an image of the body, with multiple points that allow the gamer to equip items or clothes. The right screen has three sub-menus: **'Equipment': Selecting this sub-menu will open another three sub-menus: ***'Weapons': The icon for this category is a sword like the one used in Equipment. ***'Equipped': The icon for this category is an armor. ***'Accessory': The icon for this category is a necklace. **'Items': Selecting this sub-menu will open an additional scrolling screen on the left that lists all items. When an item is selected, it materializes in front of the player. The inventory turns red when a player has too many items. *'Friends/Guild': The icon for the category is two character icons together. The right screen has three sub-menus: **'Party': Selecting this sub-menu will open three additional options. The first is "Create", the second is "Invite", and the third is "Dissolve". **'Friend': Selecting this sub-menu will reveal a list of a player's friends. Selecting a single friend will produce three additional options: "Message Box", "Position Check", and "Profile". **'Guild': Allows the player to check their guild status, such as whether or not they are in a Guild. *'Communications': The icon for this category is two chat box icons together. The icon flashes automatically whenever a player receives a message. **'Befriend': This option allows the player to send a friend request to another player. The other player is added to the Friend List if the request is accepted. **'Trade': This option opens a trade window with another player. Trading can be used just to show another player items, or complete a trade after both parties accept the offers put forth. **'Duel': This option allows the player to send a Duel request. The player being challenged has the privilege of selecting one of the available duel modes. *'Maps/Quest': The icon for the category is a balloon location icon. The right screen has three sub-menus: **'Field Map': Selecting this sub-menu will reveal a map showing the player's location on the field. **'Dungeon Map': Selecting this sub-menu will reveal a map of the dungeon that the player has explored. **'Quest': Selecting this sub-menu will open the player's quest window, displaying all the quests that the player has accepted and their description. *'Settings/Main-menu': The icon for the category is a gear. The right screen has three sub-menus: **'Option''' **'Help': Selecting "Help" will call a GM (Game Master) on the left screen. **'Logout': The logout button is available with a quick log-out in a safe area and a 15-minute log-out in a soulless state, in which the player can be attacked if the player attempts to log out in the field. Leveling System The leveling system within SBO works the same way as the original in SAO. It is largely a mathematical formula that slightly increases exponentially when certain level increments are reached. The leveling system follows the following mathematical algorithms. These levels give the base stats of the player and it does not count boosts granted by equipment. Combat Combat in SBO contains multiple elements and strategies. With the introduction of flight, it allows for duels to take place in both the air or the ground. Sword Skills in SBO is entirely based on the original sword skills of SAO although there are some key differences. In the update of Spell Blade Online after one year of release, the introduction of the Original Sword Skill system allowed for combat to diversify since it allowed the player to invent their own sword skills, and duels could be set to be either flying or ground duels. Duels, like in Sword Art Online, are of three types: First Blood, Half-Health, and Total Loss. When a player dies, they will become a Remnant and lose some of their stat progress. The attacker will also receive some of the killed player's items and currency. If a player dies due to , they will suffer a much greater death penalty than for normal deaths. Battles with monsters were more or less the exact same as in SAO. Equipment Ranks ;Rank 1 :The simplest equipment. It can be found anywhere in low-level areas and can be forged by anyone with a level in blacksmithing. Divination is a weapon that can be found in this tier. ;Rank 2 :One tier higher, Rank 2 equipment will need to have the player clear a prerequisite before being able to equip it. Since it is only Rank 2, the prerequisite will be extremely easy to accomplish. Beginner blacksmiths can also forge Rank 2 equipment. ;Rank 3 :The last tier of the basic equipment, it is also the highest tier that beginner blacksmiths can forge. Like Rank 2 weapons, a prerequisite needs to be met before one is able to equip and like Rank 2 weapons, the prerequisite is usually easy to meet. ;Rank 4 :Intermediate equipment begins with Rank 4. Skilled blacksmiths will find it easy to forge such equipment. Prerequisites will start leaning more towards the hard side from here. ;Rank 5 :The second tier of intermediate equipment, skilled blacksmiths will find it easy to forge this type of equipment although a little more time will be needed. ;Rank 6 :The last tier of intermediate equipment, skilled blacksmiths will find it rather hard to forge this type of equipment although equipment in this tier will be easier to find in rather high-level areas. ;Rank 7 :Advanced equipment with a rather grueling prerequisite, blacksmiths who have completed their skill in the craft will find it time-consuming to forge these even with their skill. ;Rank 8 :The highest tier player-made equipment can go. One cannot forge equipment higher than Rank 8. The Vox Unitas is a weapon in this tier. ;Rank 9 :Only obtainable through hard quests, Rank 9 equipment is equipment that transcends into the divine. Demigods would most likely have Rank 9 equipment on hand. Prerequisites for equipping a Rank 9 equipment will be extremely harsh. The katana Takemikazuchi Hachishiki is one such weapon in this tier. ;Rank 10 :The highest tier of equipment. Rank 10 equipment can be considered divine equipment. Only certain very-high-difficulty quests will give a Rank 10 reward. Prerequisites for equipping a Rank 10 will be extremely harsh, quite possibly harsher than Rank 9's. The Holy Sword Excalibur is one such weapon in this tier. Magic System There are four basic magical elements, , , , and . Besides these four elements, there are two extraneous elements that deal neutral damage against other elements but are strong against each other: , and . Spell difficulty was measured by the number of lines used to cast the spell: the more lines the more complicated the spell. Sword skills were the other half of magic in SBO and they had only one property, . Other than this, magic was very simple. Upon the game's first major update, the implementation of the Original Sword Skill system which allowed players to create their own sword skills pleased players, both new and returning. The next change also regarded sword skills as it added elemental damage properties to them so they are not purely Physical damage. Another change was suggested by the players who asked that the magic system be separated into individual tiers like that of the equipment. Magic Tiers ;Tier 1 :The basic of the basic. Spells in this category can be activated with one word although sometimes, an experienced magic user may not need to say anything to activate a Tier 1 spell. ;Tier 2 :Still very basic but is more difficult than first-tier spells. Spells in this category may take two or three words to activate, although an experienced mage would need none. ;Tier 3 :The final tier of basic spells. This is the first tier where one line will need to be chanted to activate the spell. This is also the final tier where even the most talented mages would be forced to use more than one Word. ;Tier 4 :Intermediate magic spells begins here. Two lines are needed to use spells from this tier. ;Tier 5 :The second tier of intermediate magic. Spells from this tier use three lines. ;Tier 6 :The final tier of intermediate magic. Spells from this tier use four lines. ;Tier 7 :Advanced magic spells begins here. Spells from this tier use five lines. ;Tier 8 :The second and final tier of advanced magic. Spells from this tier vary the usage of lines with the relatively simple ones using six and the hardest using nine. ;Tier 9 :Magic that transcends into the divine realm. Usage of this magic is not possible from normal training. It can only be inherited from certain magic NPC teachers or clearing quests. It is not surprising for magic from this tier to use fifteen or more lines. ;Tier 10 :Magic of the highest caliber. Players are not experienced enough to wield this magic no matter how much they train their magical capabilities. Only select NPCs that help players on certain quests have the ability to use tenth-tier magic. Rankings Like SAO, SBO has a ranking system. Rankings are recorded in books known as the Named Charts. Only the top 72 players are shown in them. The top 12 players are known as Page Ones and are given rewards from the GMs (Game Masters aka moderators) for maintaining that rank. These rewards can include, early info on not-yet-implemented quests, bonus equipment, and extra in-game currency (although it can be translated into real-life currency as well). To make it easier, the GMs made 9 separate Named Charts for each of the nine races in SBO. There is also a master Named Chart that shows the top 72 players in all of SBO, instead of the top 72 within each race. Page Ones who are strong enough to show up in both their race's Named Chart as well as the master Named Chart will receive even more rewards from the GMs. Updates December 1st, 2026 Patch Update This update implemented the Original Sword Skill system as well as elemental damage to sword skills and tiers to the magic system.